ARTIFACT OF THE WEEK

This artifact was donated to the museum just last week and has not yet been added to our collection. It is a defused hand grenade from World War II that was given to a local boy as a souvenir by a grateful family in Holland when he toured Europe with the Alberta Honour Band.

From research, this hand grenade seems to be a Mills bomb, a popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades. These Mills bombs were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army, they saw extensive use during World War I. It was William Mills, a hand grenade designer, that patented, developed, and manufactured the "Mills bomb" in the Mills Munition Factory located in Birmingham, England in 1915. The Mills bomb was inspired by Belgian Captain Leon Roland and later Roland and Mills were engaged in a patent lawsuit. The Mills bomb No. 5 hand grenade was adopted by the British Army as its standard hand grenade in 1915.

The mills bomb underwent numerous modifications. The No. 23 was a variant on the No. 5 with a rodded base plug that allowed it to be fired from a rifle. This concept evolved further with the No. 36, which had a detachable base plate to allow use with a rifle discharger cup. The final variation on the Mills bomb was the No. 36M, which was waterproofed with shellac. This variation on the Mills bomb was the standard issue British grendade during the Second World War. This specific hand grenade was designed and waterproofed specifically for use in the hot climate of Mesopotamia in 1917, but remained in production for many years. By 1918, the No. 5 and No. 23 were declared obsolete and the No.36 (but not the No. 36M) followed in 1932.

The "pineapple" design of this grenade allowed for the user to grip the device more easily; however, the design also made for unpredictable fragmentation. After throwing, the user had to take cover immediately. A competent thrower could manage 49 feet with reasonable accuracy, but the grenade could throw lethal fragments farther than this. The British Home Guard were instructed that the throwing range of this defensive grenade was about 30 yards with a danger zone of about 100 yards. After the Second World War, Britain adopted grenades that contained a segmented coiled wire in a smooth metal casing.

In 1987, this waterproofed No. 36M Mills bomb souvenir was brought back home from Holland on the plane. Security was definitely not as tight as it is today.

Benjamin Tingley Rogers, an American businessman, saw an opportunity along the Canadian West Coast to bring raw sugar from Australia, Asia, and Central America by ship then refine it in British Columbia for the booming Canadian Market. In 1890, Rogers opened the BC Sugar Refinery and January 16, 1891, the first melt of sugar was put through. Not only was Rogers' Golden Syrup a common kitchen ingredient in pioneer homes, but the empty cans could be used, and often were, as children's lunch pails for school. You can still find Rogers' Golden Syrup on the shelves of stores today; however, you will not find it in its iconic red and green tin anymore.